Privacy Policy

Effective Date: September 27, 2025

At Lapphund Designs, we respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. This policy describes what information we collect, how we use it, whom we share it with, and the choices you have. We operate from British Columbia, Canada, and our practices comply with the British Columbia Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). By visiting our site or making a purchase, you consent to the collection and use of information as described in this policy.

1. Information We Collect

We collect only the personal information needed for clearly identified purposes. We collect:

• Personal Information: When you make a purchase or contact us, we collect your name, billing and shipping addresses, email, phone number, and payment details. We use this data to process your order and communicate with you.
• Device & Usage Information: We automatically collect certain information about your device and how you interact with our website (e.g., IP address, browser type, time zone, cookies and usage data). This helps us improve your experience and detect fraud.
• Order Information: To fulfill your order, we collect details such as purchased products, order total, payment confirmation and shipping details. Under PIPA, we must retain any personal information used to make a decision about you for at least one year to ensure you can request access.
• Marketing Preferences: If you opt in to receive marketing communications, we collect your email address and preferences. Canada’s Anti‑Spam Legislation (CASL) requires businesses to obtain consent before sending commercial electronic messages.
• Additional Data You Provide: If you communicate with us by email or social media, respond to surveys or participate in promotions, we may collect the information you voluntarily provide.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information only for purposes a reasonable person would consider appropriate. The main uses include:

• Order Processing & Delivery: To process your order, verify payment, arrange shipping via Printful, and provide you with invoices and order confirmations. We share necessary data with partners like Shopify and Printful to complete your purchase.
• Customer Support: To respond to your inquiries, manage returns and refunds, and provide customer support.
• Communication: We may contact you about your order, account, or changes to our policies. With your consent, we may send you marketing messages; you may opt out at any time.
• Improving Our Services: To understand how customers use our website, improve user experience, and develop new products. We use analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics) that collect device and usage data.
• Fraud Prevention & Legal Obligations: To screen orders for potential risk or fraud and to comply with legal obligations. PIPA requires us to identify the purposes for collecting personal information before or at the time of collection.

3. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell or rent your personal information. We share it only as necessary to provide our services and as permitted by law. This includes:

• Shopify: We use Shopify to power our online store. Shopify may process your personal information to provide the e‑commerce platform and analytics.
• Printful: For order fulfillment and shipping, we share information like your name, address and contact details with our production partner Printful.
• Payment Processors: Payment providers such as PayPal, Stripe and Shopify Payments securely process your payment information; we do not store your credit card numbers.
• Service Providers & Analytics: We use third‑party service providers (e.g., Google Analytics, email marketing providers) to analyze site usage, send emails, and host our website. We ensure that providers contractually agree to protect your information to a comparable standard and use it only for the services they perform.
• Legal Compliance & Risk Management: We may disclose information if required by law, if a court order or government request compels us, or if disclosure is necessary to prevent loss or fraud. If we undergo a business transaction (e.g., merger or acquisition), your data may be transferred as part of that transaction.

Cross‑Border Data Transfers: We may transfer personal information to service providers in the United States or other countries. PIPEDA and PIPA do not prohibit cross‑border transfers, but privacy regulators require notice of such transfers and that we provide comparable protections. Your personal information may be subject to access by foreign governments or authorities under the laws of those jurisdictions. By using our services, you consent to this transfer and acknowledge that privacy laws in those countries may differ.

4. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

We use cookies, web beacons and similar technologies to recognize your browser or device, remember your preferences, keep you logged in, and analyze how you use our site. You can control cookies through your browser settings; however, disabling cookies may limit site functionality. Cookies also allow us to show you relevant ads on other websites.

5. Consent & Withdrawal

By interacting with our site, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information as outlined in this policy. Under PIPA, you can withdraw consent at any time with reasonable notice. When you withdraw consent, we will inform you of any consequences and stop collecting or using your data unless required by law. Note that withdrawing consent may affect our ability to provide goods or services.

You may opt out of marketing communications at any time by following the unsubscribe instructions in our emails or contacting us. CASL requires businesses to obtain consent before sending commercial electronic messages.

6. Your Rights

You have the right to access and correct your personal information. You may also request details about how your information has been used and to whom it has been disclosed. To exercise these rights:

• Access: You may request access to your personal information in our control. We will respond within 30 days as required by PIPA. If we refuse access (e.g., because providing the information would reveal another person’s data or could cause harm), we will explain why and outline how you can request a review.
• Correction: If you believe your personal information is inaccurate or incomplete, you may request a correction. If we make a correction, we will send the updated information to any organization to whom we disclosed it during the previous year. If we decline to correct your information, we will annotate it with the requested correction.
• Transparency: We are required to make our privacy policies and practices readily available and to provide the name and contact information of the individual responsible for our compliance.

7. Data Retention & Destruction

We retain your personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected or as required by law. PIPA requires us to keep any personal information used to make a decision about you for at least one year. When personal information is no longer needed, we securely destroy it or remove identifying details so that it cannot be linked back to you.

8. Security Measures

We employ physical, organizational, and technological safeguards to protect personal information from loss or theft and unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification. The type and level of safeguards depend on the sensitivity of the information. Measures include locked storage, role‑based access controls, encryption, secure payment processing, and staff training on data protection. Under PIPEDA and PIPA, we are responsible for personal information even when transferred to third‑party service providers and must ensure comparable protection.

Data Breaches: If a breach of security safeguards poses a real risk of significant harm, PIPEDA requires us to report it to the Privacy Commissioner and notify affected individuals as soon as feasible. Harm may include bodily harm, identity theft, financial loss or damage to reputation. We maintain records of all privacy breaches and will provide them to the Commissioner upon request.

9. International Users & Cross‑Border Transfers

Our website is hosted in Canada and primarily targeted to customers in North America. By using our services from outside Canada, you consent to transferring your information to Canada and to third‑party service providers in other countries. When personal information is processed by a third party outside Canada, it may be subject to foreign laws and accessible to government authorities. We will ensure that any service provider we engage agrees to protect your personal information to a comparable standard.

10. Children’s Privacy

Our website is not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we learn that we have inadvertently collected personal data from a child without appropriate consent, we will delete it promptly. Parents or guardians who believe their child has provided us with personal information should contact us.

11. Marketing Communications & Cookies

We send promotional emails or newsletters only if you have opted in. CASL encourages businesses to obtain consent before sending commercial electronic messages and to respect unsubscribe requests You can withdraw your consent at any time by clicking the “unsubscribe” link in any marketing email or contacting us. We may still send you transactional or service‑related messages (e.g., order confirmations, updates about your account). We also use cookies for advertising and analytics; see Section 4 above for details.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes to our practices, legal requirements or for other operational reasons. We will post the revised policy on this page and update the “Effective Date” above. Your continued use of our website after any changes indicates acceptance of the revised policy. For material changes, we may provide more prominent notice or seek your consent as required by law.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions, requests to access or correct your personal information, or complaints about our privacy practices, please contact our Privacy Officer. We will respond promptly and work to resolve any concerns. You can reach us at:

Email: lapphunddesigns@gmail.com

You may also contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia if you have concerns that we have not addressed.